Faculty Senate Executive Committee Meeting

Minutes #17

January 28, 2008

1. The meeting was called to order at 9:10 a.m. on Monday, January 28, 2008 in the third floor conference room in Green Hall, Chairperson Miller presiding. All members were present.

2. The Minutes of Executive Committee Meeting #16, January 16, 2008 were approved as corrected.

3. Announcements/Correspondence

a. Chairperson Miller reported on the Board of Governors' Academic and Student Affairs Committee Meeting, which had been held on January 25, 2008. He said that the committee had approved the establishment of the School of Communication and the elimination of the B.S. Degree in Financial Services. Both items had been forwarded to the committee after approval by the Faculty Senate and the President in the fall.

Chairperson Miller also distributed materials on developmental education at URI that had been presented by Dean Richmond at the meeting.

b. Chairperson Miller noted that there was a Board of Governors Meeting scheduled for 5:00 p.m. that afternoon. He said he was unable to attend but that he expected that most of the business of interest to the faculty would be approved as recommended by the Academic and Student Affairs Subcommittee at their January 25 meeting.

c. The Executive Committee briefly discussed the Annual Retention and Graduation Report, which had been forwarded to them by the President. It was noted that the report showed that there had been slight improvement in some of the areas.

d. Ms. Grubman distributed a schedule of Executive Committee meetings for the spring semester. Guests were scheduled as follows:

It was noted that Dr. De Hayes had asked for an opportunity to meet with the FSEC before he took his position. March 10 was tentatively scheduled for that meeting.

e. Ms. Grubman reported that Professor C. B. Peters had resigned as chair of the UCGE Subcommittee on Assessment of General Education. The Executive Committee asked her to consult with LOOC Chair John Stevenson about a possible replacement for Professor Peters.

f. Chairperson Miller said that he had been invited to a presentation on Branding on February 8 at 11:00 a.m. He said that he would not be able to attend and asked if anyone on the FSEC could go in his stead. Vice Chairperson Martin and Senator Beauvais said that they were willing to attend.

4. The Executive Committee reviewed the Agenda for Faculty Senate Meeting #5 January 31, 2008 in preparation for the meeting later that week. It was noted that Vice President Dougan would sponsor the reception.

5. The Executive Committee was brought up to date on the following matters of continuing concern:

a. Administrator Evaluation: Ms. Grubman reported that the evaluations of Dean Seemann and Dean McKinney appeared to be moving toward conclusion.

With regard to the spring evaluations of Vice Provost McCray and Dean Richmond, Ms. Grubman said that she had contacted the respective administrators and was working with their help to develop lists of the constituency groups for the Vice Provost for Urban Programs and the Dean of University College and Special Academic Programs.

b. JSPC: The Executive Committee discussed the decision to reschedule the February 7 meeting of the JSPC for February 14. It was noted that neither Chairperson Miller nor Vice Chairperson Martin would be available to attend on the 14th. Ms Grubman was asked to contact Ms. Orabone about rescheduling the meeting for later in February.

c. Committees: Senator Beauvais reported noted that the Academic Program Review Committee (APRC) had formed a subcommittee to look at each of the AIIM questions in depth. She said that the subcommittee had already scheduled a series of meetings.

Chairperson Miller reported that as an outgrowth of JSPC discussions, a Committee on the Visitor Experience had been established under the Division of University Advancement and that he had been invited to participate. He said that the meeting was chaired by Associate Vice President Paul Witham and also included Dean Bonn and several alumni representatives.

6. Under New Business, Chairperson Miller reported that Ms. Christine Heenan, President of the Clarendon Group had asked to meet with the FSEC in her role as consultant to the URI Commission for Innovation and Research, chaired by Judge Flanders. Following discussion, the Executive Committee agreed to meet with Ms. Heenan in March.